- [Narrator] It's October 24th, 2020. We're in Memorial Stadium
in Bloomington, Indiana. The number eight ranked
Penn State Nittany Lions are trying to escape Indiana
on their opening weekend. But the Hoosiers have battled
back and forced overtime. Down one point, Indiana's wunderkind, Quarterback Michael Penix Jr., is lined up to go for two and the win. If he succeeds, upstart IU
will pull their biggest upset in over three decades. If Penn State can force a stop, they'll salvage this nightmare
start to a nightmare year that started with national title dreams. To understand just how strange the path to this unexpected moment was, we need to rewind. (curious music) You see that little number eight
ranking next to Penn State? It means the Top 10 Nittany
Lions weren't expected to be in an overtime dogfight against one of the
sport's historic doormats. (tape rewinding) After another successful season in 2019, James Franklin's rebuild of Penn State in the post-Paterno
era was clicking along. The Lions were 42-11
in their last four seasons and signed their fourth
straight Top 15 signing class in February of '20. Plus, returning Linebacker
Micah Parsons was on track to be one of, if not the
best defensive player in college football entering 2020. On offense, Senior Quarterback
Sean Clifford returned with a very experienced offensive line, and Franklin addressed the
team's biggest on field flaw, its passing game, by
hiring a new play caller. After losing OC Ricky Rahne to the head coaching job at Old Dominion, Franklin poached Minnesota
offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca to overhaul
the Lion's offense, specifically a passing game that struggled to stretch the field in 2019. Since Franklin turned the program around, they'd won the Big Ten, they'd beaten opponents like
Ohio State and Michigan, but they'd yet to put everything together and break into the four team
College Football Playoff. But with this new offense
and a blue chip roster, in the weeks following the 19th season Penn State was a popular, reliable pick to finally make the playoff in 2020. So, how in the world are
they on the brink of an upset to Indiana in football? Basically, it's this guy's fault. Let's be clear, Michael Penix Jr. should not be here right now. (tape rewinding) In high school, the Tampa
native originally committed to the University of Tennessee
and head coach Butch Jones over nearby Florida State. But, when Tennessee fired
Butch and cleaned house, the new and very stupid Tennessee staff elected not to recruit Penix. That opened the door for now
former Tennessee assistant Nick Sheridan, who originally
recruited Penix to Knoxville and who had just landed a job at Indiana. He stayed persistent on Penix. And Michael wasn't a day
one starter for Tennessee or any other Power Five program, but he was a top 50 rated
quarterback in his class, and as you can see here, he showed obvious raw
talent and a high upside. Penix landing in Indiana is still insane even with that tangle of
coaching moves to explain it because he held offers from programs like hometown South
Florida and Florida State, and honestly, Big Ten
doormats don't tend to pull warm weather talents away
from their home states. But most notably, it's
insane because, good God, is Indiana University
awful at tackle football. No head coach in the
previous 60 years of IU has left the program
with a winning record. Entering the 2020 season, the Hoosiers are college
football's losingest program amongst schools with at least
a thousand games played. A loss here would be the
program's 685th in school history. Indiana hasn't won nine games
in a single season since 1967 when they last appeared in the Rose Bowl, which they lost to OJ Simpson. And until 2019, Indiana
finished 500 or higher in conference play only twice since 1991. One time, Wisconsin scored 83 points against the Hoosiers in one game. And this was in 2010. This wasn't in like
the 1890s or something. One time in 2011, the
worst statistical defense in all of college football that season, North Texas led IU 24 to nothing before eventually winning the game. When Indiana Head Football
Coach Terry Hoeppner had brain surgery in 2006, the Hoosiers tried to rally to win one for their missing head coach. But instead they blew a 21 to seven lead over FCS level Southern
Illinois and lost at home. Indiana football manages to just suck and break hearts historically so. And that suck continued to pace when Penix arrived on campus. He tore his ACL his freshman year and saw action in only three games. IU went five and seven, which
was pretty good for them. Yet, all the while, head coach
and Indiana native Tom Allen was building the most minor of miracles, a relatively competent
football team in Bloomington. He recruited hard, both around
Indiana and the Midwest, but also in Florida where
he'd previously coached. He also hired great assistants like Fresno State Offensive Coordinator Kalen DeBoer in 2019. Under DeBoer, Penix's
potential began to shine, and Indiana averaged 433 yards a game and ranked third in the
Big Ten in total offense. Penix was named the starter in 2019 and the sophomore flourished at times, but struggled to stay healthy. He only started and played in six games, but that talent was obvious
when he was on the field. With a combo of Penix
and Backup Peyton Ramsey, Indiana pulled off another miracle, well, for Indiana, by winning eight games in one season! They even finished above
500 at Big Ten play. But, one thing was missing
in that eight win season and that was a signature
win over a big opponent. Anytime Indiana played
a marquee-ranked team like Penn State, they lost. So if there was a goal for
2020, beating a blue blood was the obvious next step for the program. DeBoer left to become
Fresno State's head coach after the year, but he handed the play
calling over to Sheridan. Indiana was confident that
they'd unlocked Penix's potential so long as they could
just keep him healthy. So certainly, a healthy,
effective Michael Penix can help explain part
of how we arrived here, but where's Micah Parsons? Wouldn't Penn State want their
best defender on the field against someone like Penix
on the game deciding play? And hey, how is it week one
of the college football season on October the 24th? Also, where're the fans? Indiana and Penn State were never meant to start the 2020 season
against each other at all. Their normal 12-game
regular season schedule was dashed, reorganized,
and dashed and reorganized several times over during this whole worldwide COVID-19 pandemic thing that the entire planet
happened to be dealing with. Unlike other conferences, the Big Ten first moved to
cancel its season entirely, but then elected to start two months late with a condensed conference only slate that put the lines in Bloomington. Meanwhile, the NCAA changed many of its eligibility rules on the fly, allowing scholarship players a chance to opt out of the season
if they felt unsafe. Parsons, a lock for the NFL,
elected to do just this; foregoing the entire 2020
season to prepare for the draft. The impact of the pandemic
on college football has been tremendous in every way. Players and coaches require daily testing, they can't gather in large spaces, and they're routinely required
to quarantine and isolate. There's zero consistency
and a perpetual wave of distractions from the outside world. You know, stuff coaches just love. In a normal world,
college football schedule is very tight for players
and coaches to actually meet and game plan and practice, but now it was even more
compressed and uncertain without any kind of regular routine. So, take that new Penn State
offensive system for instance. Something like installing a new offense would be pretty old hat under a successful veteran like Franklin, but now, who knows how much
time could the staff have to get everything wrapped and refined? And suddenly, minus Parsons and a normal installation
schedule for their new scheme, it made a lot more sense Penn State is in that one-point game against that supposed former doormat. This is becoming the new normal of COVID era college football, where uncertainty creates weird football. And, weird football is great for Indiana who's riding a streak
of 41 consecutive losses to AP Top 10 ranked opponents
going into this game. Because weird means potentially
something different. And weird football is exactly
what we got in the first half. The Hoosiers scored 17 straight points in the second quarter, thanks to two Sean Clifford interceptions. Hey, there's that uncertainty
about a new offensive scheme showing up right on time for Indiana. The Hoosiers carried a 17
to seven lead into halftime and Penix has been far from perfect, but he's carried IU this far. Except after a third quarter interception that set up a Penn State score, another IU collapse seemed inevitable. Hoosier football fans, those damned souls could just feel it happening. IU's offense stalled out on
a series of three and outs and the Lions took the lead 21-20 after the Hoosiers only
scored three points total in the second half. Whatever first game or
pandemic level weirdness that worked in the underdog's favor had all melted away. After all, Penn State is a Top 10 team, and Top 10 teams find
ways to win ugly games. Until that Top 10 team finds a way to brain fart their way
out of certain victory. Down 21-20, Penix and the IU offense failed on a fourth down attempt with one minute and 47 seconds remaining on their own 14-yard line. And, that's it! That's your game! Or it should be at least. Penn State took over on
downs with under two minutes. On the Hoosier sideline,
Allen told his defense to let Penn State, who were
so close to the end zone, score a touchdown as soon as possible to hopefully get Indiana the ball back. But look, that shouldn't happen. This is football strategy 101. Indiana only had one time out left so the Lions could run the
game clock to under 30 seconds even without a first down all inside the red zone. The only thing Penn State
couldn't or shouldn't do is score a touchdown quickly and give the ball back to
Penix and the Hoosiers. So of course, on the next play, Penn State scored a touchdown, seriously. You can watch here as
Running Back Devyn Ford hesitates at the goal line, but like, eventually crosses
to score the touchdown. And you can see the
confusion and disconnect between the Penn State
sideline and their player. Welcome to the pandemic era. Down eight and having
scored only three points in the second half, Michael Penix Jr.'s upside and potential needed to become reality. And it did. Indiana scored a
touchdown on a seven play, 75-yard drive that's all
Penix and Penn State. Meaning that the only
yards on the entire drive came from a Penix pass or two very stupid Penn State penalties that set up a one-yard Penix
scramble for a touchdown. Then another Penix rush for
an improbable game tying two-point conversion. Ugh, how sad is it that Memorial Stadium is left stunned for a good reason, and it's nearly empty. How fitting is it that
Indiana is on the cusp of doing something unseen for decades amidst a global event unlike
anything in a century? Penn State opened overtime with
a quick, efficient touchdown in four plays to take a seven-point lead. Then, just like his game tying drive, Penix led the way and
Indiana scored a touchdown in five plays that ended with
a Penix pass to Whop Philyor. Now, the Hoosiers have a dilemma. A standard PAT kick would
force a second overtime and the game would continue
on for as long as needed. But hey, they're not lined
up to kick, are they? Indiana has nothing if not self-aware. This is insane, and it
should not be happening. But Penn State is a playoff contender and while they're stunned and confused and they're down a blue chip leader, IU knows they're fighting
far above their weight class. The odds are against pulling off the upset if the Hoosiers hand the
ball back to the favorite. Indiana is on the cusp of a win, the caliber of which their program hasn't seen in any of
these players' lives, and that's why they're lined
up for two-points in the win, or the loss. It's gotta be now, and it's gotta be the good player who came to a horrible program and against all odds became great because tonight, he could become a star. And besides, it's 2020,
nothing makes sense right now. Why couldn't Indiana beat
Penn State even at football? Welcome to a moment in history. (audience cheering) - [Commentator] Penix, steps up. (audience cheering) (referee whistles) (audience cheering) And they said he is in, (audience roaring) and Indiana pulls this off in overtime. (switch clicks) (light music)